Fortune Favors the Bold
by 28falenangel28
Summary: What if the Gods feared of the possibility of the destruction of the known world and tool a little step in help it nudge the correct path? Watch what happens when such a tiny drop make a significant change! An OC from the Harry Potter world born as the twin of Catelyn Tully who reshapes the history of Westeros! Disclaimer: Everything belongs to R.R. Martin & JKR except my OC's.
1. Chapter 1

Fortune favors the bold

Somewhere in Bristol, Unplottable House Piper's Reed

At the age of 95, William Piper can safely say that he has seen both the best and worst of the world. He was born as a second son of a wealthy neutral pure blood family the early rise of dark lord Voldemort. He was considered very gifted in charms & runes. He completely stayed away during the conflict of light vs dark traveling the world gathering and increasing the knowledge. It was during this travel that he started learning alchemy. Apart from his magical knowledge, he was also obsessively interested in non-magical world's history and technology. He unlike other pure bloods saw that the muggle world was drastically improving in technology. As such, he spent half the time learning about their history and technology which helped him in making a cure for cruciatus exposed nerve damage and damages to brain.

While he was in Japan, he learned the art of magical forging. In china, he learned to use sword and in South America, he learned more about farming, herbology and even learned about the chemical compounds that is involved in potion making. The most important thing in his life was learning alchemy from druids while he was in Africa. He made significant profit for his family when he employed alchemy in making the potions more potent and a few farming lands of his family more fertile. He also made use of this and produced more food and gave half of them to various orphanages across United Kingdom.

Due to devoting all his time in various knowledgeable pursuits he never married but made up for it by spoiling his nephews. So at the age of 95, he died peacefully in his sleep. Now William knew he never did much to help during any wars but he thought at least he made some help after the war and brought more advancements to the magical world. So when he was feeling a very powerful presence in front him, he was oddly curious and also afraid. Curious because he did not know what these gods want with him and afraid because they were many, seemed very powerful and he could not see their faces clearly (Also being dead does not help him in this regard).

When one of them said, "William, you have been judged worthy. So we are giving a choice and an opportunity. Should you not accept, you can continue on with your next great journey, but should you accept, we can give you even greater Journey."

William blinked once then twice and finally asked, "Ok, May I ask what this opportunity is and not to mean any disrespect but may I know who you are all?"

Another one now spoke in a more jovial voice, "To answer your second question William, we are what you mortals call gods, specifically the Oldest of them all. You can say or even call us the 'Old gods' except the grumpy one next to me, you can call him stranger. We have names but you cannot speak them in your language."

Another in a rougher tone, "And what we want from you is to born in another world and help the chosen one fulfil his destiny to save the world."

One more spoke, "You will be saving this world from a very dark undead ice demons and their undead thralls. But even more so you will also help save them from your fellow mortals. You will help us spread our influence again over the land"

William sighed and knew the choice he would make because no matter his accomplishments, his decision to stay out of war still weighed heavily on his mind. He looked at these beings and said, "You should know what choice I would make! But can't you at least tell me more about these little detail?"

Again one of them spoke, "We know; but the free will for mortals is a rule that we greatly follow. And as for your other question, you can find out yourself when you go there!" William detected a little smug tone in the voice and sighed when bright light enveloped him and his world went blank

In Riverrun, 264 AC

Lord Hoster Tully was pacing back and forth before the birthing chamber of his wife and was praying to the seven that both his wife and child should be healthy. He already lost 3 sons who did not survive infancy. He was greatly hoping that this child whether son or daughter will live long enough and his wife will recover from the childbirth. When he suddenly heard a child cry, he immediately went inside and saw the midwife bring him a beautiful baby girl with her mother's auburn hair. He cradled her gently and went near his wife when she cried again. He was immediately moved away from the maester as the mid wives went to help deliver another child. He was waiting with both anxiousness of the child and fear for his wife when his wife Lady Minisa gave birth to a boy with brown hair and blue eyes.

He was filled great joy and pride when he saw the daughter but even more so on seeing a son to be the heir of Riverrun. He went near his wife who was very tired took both the babes and asked him, "What will be their names be my love?"

Hoster who was just looking loving at his wife blinked and replied with a smile, "Catelyn for the girl and William for the boy." Minisa smiled and went to sleep tiredly after mumming their names.

Maester informed Hoster, "Milord, Let Lady Tully sleep her exhaustion while we will send ravens regarding this great news to the others and arrange for a great feast. Hoster replied with a smile, Yes, Please do so; this is a great day indeed! The seven has fit to give me a heir once more and also a beautiful daughter."

None knew that the baby heir in question was listening to their words eyes closed and taking everything that is being said and done. The repercussions of the baby heir will be felt in the entirety of the Westeros in later years to come which none know about except the Gods themselves.


	2. Chapter 2

Place: Riverrun

At 5 years of age, William has already earned the reputation as one of the smartest ever born by speaking da and ma at just 2 months and started walking by 6 months. He is very observant with very sharp blue eyes. He already questioned and challenged maester many times. As such the maester Vyman took some words of the young heir into account and started teaching him many advances subjects he normally would not teach a young child and certainly not young as William. Hoster also started having William around whenever he makes any decision with the maester so that he can learn through experience. Hoster was also very proud of the way his boy was advancing as he can already speak and write Common tongue and also already started on Valyrian. When not studying, William would be found in the training yard observing the master of arms train the castle guards.

He also took time to play with his sisters, Catelyn his twin and Lysa younger by 2 years. By the age of 7, he started to do physical exercises to slowly improve his strength and stamina for when he eventually took sword fighting. He started practicing with wooden swords and was considered to be a budding swordsmen. He took on people twice his age and beat them. Slowly but steadily, William started to make a name for himself under the watchful eyes of his father, Uncle Brynden and Maester.

William knew that he need magical advantage in order to get more effective to make any changes to being considered legendary and taken seriously. His experience with martial arts in his previous life gave a big advantage in this regard. In this regard, he began studying herb lore of known world and began collecting the required ingredients. But getting the ingredients was not an easy task. It proved downright difficult but William found a way to do it even though it was morally wrong. He simply put Maester Vyman under imperious and simply commanded to go about usually except to heed his command should he give it.

Even using Maester to collect the ingredients proved extremely difficult as some of them are quite rare. In the end it took 3 years for the Maester to procure all the necessary items. He also found it very difficult to cast magic without any focus. He also could not apparate or portkey or a few magical field. But that is for another time. He used weirwood cutting he obtained to boost his wandless magic. Talking about magic, he now understood what the gods spoke during the limbo regarding the stranger and 'old gods' among other things.

Coming back to his magical enhancement, he now had all the requirement for the alchemical ritual he is about to undergo. This ritual will ensure that his body will get the most nutritional value of the foods, increase his strength and neural capacity, enhanced healing (not rapid) and help connect him spiritually the lands boost the connection with this world's magic. William found this ritual by accident in an ancient library in India during his early journey through the world in his previous life. As today is a full moon day, he started on his ritual in a secret place he found during his wanderings around Riverrun.

This ritual will help him create the said alchemical potion, so he went about and drew the runic circle, placed the boiling pot, filled the ingredients, and gave 7 drops of blood and started chanting. At the end of his chant, he could see the potion forming like a clear liquid which was exactly a glass full. He took the glass filled with potion, disposed the evidence and went back to his room. William thought, 'Brrr, this is going to taste horrible like every other potion' and grabbed his nose and immediately drank the whole lot. He felt throwing up but held it in with great difficulty and felt light in the head and so he fell in the bed and went into a dreamless sleep.

William woke very late the next day. Even though everyone knew this to be unusual but thought William must have simply be exhausted after a long day work. This is because normally William will start on his workouts and then go about practicing his swordplay and then have his breakfast. Once that is done, he will study in the library or be with his father and sisters. And then again go through the swordplay forms in the training yard with his Uncle and then again go back to library.

William started feeling the effects of the potion kick start soon enough and moved towards tourney swords. Many thought he could not wield but William, thanks to the ritual boost, not only wielded expertly but also proved his monstrous strength when practicing with others.

William improved rapidly after that. At the age of 10, William was clearly taller and stronger than most people. Using this to his advantage, William convinced both his father and Uncle to take him to bandit hunts most time. But he was never allowed to fight the bandits with swords. No matter of his prodigious talent and strength, no one wanted to test fate. But instead, William took to archery during the raids. The bow made from Weirwood on his request in which he engraved the runes to increase the range and power. Again he proved his worth, when he killed 5 bandits in the blink of an eye before his uncle and his small troop could engage in combat with them.

After the hunt, the blackfish simply told Will that he did good and asked him to return to his siblings and mother. Then Brynden spoke proudly to his brother, "You should have seen him kill those bandits Hoster, he loosened 2 arrows simultaneously which found it marks. He single handedly killed 5 of the scum before we could even engage." Hoster simply listened proudly and thought his heir would take the fame of Riverrun to great heights. William, of course, will do so but never in a way that his father imagined.

Even though he was skilled only a few people truly know of William's skill. And the time finally came when Westeros could finally know of the legend of William. And it was an event which had devastating consequence in the history of Westeros: the defiance of Duskendale. An event which saw the decline of Aerys II Targaryen descend steeply into insanity. It was the year 277 AC.

During the Siege led by Tywin Lannister, Hoster brought William along with a small force to show his loyalty to the king. Because of the threat on King's life by Lord Denys, Tywin nor the forces were unable to do anything. But when Ser Barristan Selmy was offered a solo mission to rescue the King, William had confounded the people in the meeting room into tagging along with the Bold Knight. Normally the confundus on strong willed people would not have worked but with the king's life on the line, everyone in the tent was preoccupied which proved easier for William to confound them into accepting him. Because a new beggar would cause serious doubts among the guards than a beggar with a boy. This proved especially true as the guards simply believed them to be father and son beggar duo and left them to their own devices without checking them.

At the age of 13, William was nearly 5.5 foot tall, broad shoulders like father and had an athletic body. He was also quite handsome with brown wavy hair with baby blue eyes. He dirtied himself for the mission and went with Ser Barristan to scale the wall once inside. And instead of going along with the rescued King, he informed the kingsguard to ride straight through and that he will take care of the other archers that would stop the King and Barristan.

William did as he promised and many a times deflected an arrow that should have pierced the escaping party. Once they escaped the gate, William immediately ducked inside the castle and went straight to the Lord's hall cutting his way through a bloody swath. On reaching the hall and killing every guards, he stood fully bathed in blood in front of Lord Denys and his family. Lord Denys as soon as he knew that King escaped bowed to William and begged not to kill any of his family.

William knew that he could not do anything for the broken man as King Aerys and Tywin would see them completely slaughtered. But he hardened his heart and punched him in the gut who keeled over and threw a knife at his Myrish Wife Sarella in the heart killing her effectively. William immediately stepped on his chest pointed his sword to his throat and demanded the Darklyn family to surrender as they have no hostage and their Lord's life at his feet.

And that was the sight that greeted Tywin, Hoster and everyone else that entered the Hall. A young William bather in blood with the life of Lord Denys Darklyn at his sword tip. None was more astonished than Tywin Lannister to see a 13 year old boy kill 31 men and had a lord under his feet begging for his family.

When he came outside, the news spread about him killing the Lady Darklyn and having the Lord Darklyn imprisoned under his foot. The common people cried at his victory and started to praise him, "William the Conqueror" "Conqueror" "Conqueror" "Conqueror" "Conqueror". William fought hard not to laugh as the irony of it all since in his previous life there was another William Conqueror. But did not want the similar legacy aftermath death of that William. When the King wanted to knight him, he refused and asked for something that would change the entire view of the people when they think of Riverrun.


	3. Chapter 3

_When he came outside, the news spread about him killing the Lady Darklyn and having the Lord Darklyn imprisoned under his foot. The common people cried at his victory and started to praise him, "William the Conqueror" "Conqueror" "Conqueror" "Conqueror" "Conqueror". William fought hard not to laugh as the irony of it all since in his previous life there was another William Conqueror. But did not want the similar legacy aftermath death of that William. When the King wanted to knight him, he refused and asked for something that would change the entire view of the people when they think of Riverrun._

Everyone thought him mad for thinking of asking such a thing from the King. When King Aerys wanted to knight him, William replied, "Your Grace Please forgive me for saying this but I do not believe in knighthood to do good in service of the king and his people. But if you want to give me anything for my help, kindly consider in giving me the lands and income of Duskendale. The lands of Hollard can be given to any you choose for continued support of course. Because destroying them completely will simply be unsuitable in an economical point of view."

Tywin was a little furious and shouted, "You are the heir of Riverrun and now you want further more lands and benefits for doing what was your duty to save the king?"

William simply replied, "My Lord Hand, that was not my intention, so let me explain why I requested this."

The King was watching this and decided to hear out the explanation though he is honor bound to give what was requested by his rescuers and this young heir in particular for making sure no particular harm befall the escaping party and single handedly gave the traitor and killed the harlot that was behind this treachery. So he simply raised his hand and silenced Tywin and gestured for William to continue.

William explained, "Your grace many of you here know that out of all the kingdoms in the south, Riverlands suffers the most by either the bandits or when wars were fought. As you very well know, that in the last 277 years, there have been many battles fought and in those battles, Riverlands have suffered. I am humbly requesting this as a way to make sure that we of the Riverlands can simply proper and have enough food to feed everyone. As Duskendale is in crownlands, it is not an easy target for the bandits and we can help each other in times of need. It will be the seat of the heir of Riverrun until he takes up the mantle of the next Lord. This is simply a request from a humble servant. No more or less and as always, the final decision is in the hands of his grace and his trusted advisors."

The king asked him to leave so that he can think of the matter after dealing with the traitors. So that is what happened. With the exception of Dontos Hollard, everyone else was slaughtered without mercy. Tywin tried to reason with Aerys not to give the Duskendale to William in the aftermath and normally Aerys would have hesitated in giving a crownland seat to another Lord paramount but the growing rift between the Hand and him and also the 6 month captivity does not do it any good.

Aerys furiously said, "Don't give me any orders Tywin; I am the King and now I have decided to give the land and profit to Riverrun heir. The lands of Hollard will be given to House Rykker. That will be all."

Tywin cursed his stupidity but could not say anything. His one-time idiotic friend has recently been heaping insults upon him. But he simply accepted them so that he can have his daughter marry Prince Rhaegar. So he nodded and left the tent.

After arriving with father back to Riverrun, both his father and uncle berated him for his audacious stunt. Not only does that include the rescue mission and also the bold claim for the Duskendale. When he heard that, William smiled and said, "Fortune favors the Bold Father. And Uncle, I know that you have waiting to leave the Riverrun because of your Quarrel with father. But can I impose you to leave for Duskendale and see to its need as a castellan until I arrive there?"

Brynden Simply smiled and spoke, "Aye lad, you can. But I have to ask this, was it necessary to kill the woman?" William solemnly said, "I simply gave her an easy death" and he left to meet his siblings and mother. Both Hoster and his Uncle had to agree with that one, because the Myrish woman's death would not have been easy if she was caught alive.

William stayed there for another month and then left the Riverrun for Duskendale. When he arrived there, he brought a very long list of things compiled that needed to be done. He conferred with Brynden and made suitable adjustments for the plan he had for Duskendale. The very first is the increase of economy of the port city. William the help of the Maester Vyman 4 years previously imported rice from Yi Ti along with a few people who taught rice farming which has longer lifetime than normal food grain. He also showed the method to make the white rice last for 10-15 years to the Maester. However, he made both his father and Maester swore not to tell the technique to anyone else.

Not long after arriving in Duskendale, he met one of his childhood friends, Patrek Mallister. He requested his Uncle Brynden to take on Patrek as his squire. Along with Patrek and his Uncle, William made many improvements for both Riverlands and Duskendale. He gave the design for a customized ship that he ripped off from his previous life for Seaguard to employ in their navy. He introduced the advanced Galleon, armed cargo carrier ships for the transport of goods. Instead of cannons, he used fire scorpions on the ship. He took the initial loan from Ironbank and started to expand the trade and profits for the people of Riverlands and Duskendale. He commissioned the people of Flea bottom and put them to work on the fields.

One of the many things employed by William to increase his income was the construction of theatres, both high class & Normal Inns, trade shops and armories across the seven kingdoms. He also introduced spices from the Qarth which got immediate rise in popularity. Apart from the normal commercial trade, he also started various Debt collection centers and Bounty centers much to the delight of the Iron bank and sell swords & various lords respectively. This proved to be a boon as Iron redeuced his interest rate for services rendered.

He employed his first strategy against the White Walkers as they are called by sending men to the Wall. Of all the males in the Flea bottom and other bastards in the King's Landing, he send half to the wall with the promise of stable work and income for their family and the remaining half he drafted into his own personal army. And not to arouse any suspicion among other lords, he distributed the army all across the Riverlands among various loyal lords and tasked the training of them. That alone gave the Wall nearly 3000 men to hold. He got many acknowledgement and gratitude from the northern lords and even the other lords who sent their unwanted excessive smallfolk to him.

On his second year as the Lord of Duskendale, he got into a tight situation regarding the iron ores needed to outfit his army. And so after many expedition of miners and a few Maesters to the mountains in the North, he discovered many ores and precious stones can be mined. In order to solely take control of the total wealth, he along with his father met with Lord Rickard Stark. In order for the mining operation to be done on the mountains, a good amount of the ore mined to be given to Winterfell and also a job to the smallfolk as miners if needed. Concessions on the trade of Rice to the North at a reduced price and also the technique to store the rice under preservation for along with the supply of men to the Wall gave the William the Loyalty of many Northern Lords. He also became very good friends with all the children of the Lord Paramount of North.

Unlike his other world, people of westeros had small amount of magic in their blood similar to that of squibs. The only exceptions were the magicals. Using this, William made magical contracts, which the victim did not have any knowledge, to ensure that no one would blab his trade secrets or anything that can be used against him. It basically made unable to betray him.

Lord Rickard Stark thought of betrothing his daughter to the young heir but since he has already sent out his consent for the betrothal between Lyanna and Robert Baratheon, he was simply contented with the betrothal between his son Brandon and Lady Catelyn Tully. William gained another name during this time in North – William the Wise for his brilliant knowledge and acumen.

One might wonder how this feat was possible in just 5 years. Well the fact is that he just laid a basic foundation for all the work and they still need more time to prosper properly. Even so, the monstrous rise of William should not be possible for any normal humans and that is where his magic comes into play. On his 14th names day, he constructed a ring foci secretly in a workshop that was inside his Solar in Duskendale. No one knew about the workshop except him, as after he crafted the ring, he simply obliviated the knowledge from the mind of his workers and Uncle about the secret chamber.

His knowledge of druid magic came into play when establishing the mines of Iron, gold and diamond in the Northern Mountains and also making the farms of the Riverlands more fertile.

But sadly every good things must come to an end or at least a pause in the case of William's rise. When Rhaegar crowned Lyanna as his Queen of Love and beauty in the Tourney at Harrenhal at 281 AC, Targaryens earned a lot of enmity. This along with the rise in popularity of William among the small folk, led to his name being often heard in the rants of the now 'Mad King' Aerys. When Aerys burned the Lord Paramount of North while hanging Brandon to death and demanded the heads of Robert, Eddard and William that was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Robert's Rebellion broke out which shook the entirety of Westeros. William simply had Patrek hold out the Duskendale along with numerous small folk armed to the teeth inside the castle and provisions to last 2 years. He along with his Uncle Brynden and a majority of his strongly trained army that he conscripted from Flea bottom and small folk went to join Riverrun on his father's order.

And that was when the rift between Hoster and William became huge. There was already a small rift when Hoster stopped William from going after Petyr Baelish, a ward of his father, for dishonoring his sister and getting her pregnant.

And When Hoster demanded him to return instead of attacking the King's landing when the war broke, he was even more furious. The death of his mother previously did not help at all who normally calmed William and mediated between the father and Son as the duties of Duskendale and being Heir of Riverrun often collided.

So furious at his father for recalling him, he left the defense of the castle to Patrek along with 45 War Galleons to stand guard the attack from royal navy. Even Brynden thought this was a stupid move but Hoster remained stubborn so that he can profit more from the war. One thing changed about Hoster was the drastic improvement of Riverrun by William had made Hoster a little ambitious.

As such the wedding of Ned stark with Catelyn and Jon Arryn with Lysa took place urgently. William outright refused to marry anyone of his father's choosing and boldly told him that he will not marry who will be chosen by Hoster.

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for all the review! I will always welcome any positive criticism and advice on how to move the story. I have a certain plot on which to move the story but all the same I would like the inputs! The updates will not be regular but as soon as I finish the next chapter which will either a week or the very next day or even the same day!

FireKing500: Yes, He will change to Old Gods. But there is another twist in it! ;)

BLACK-OP1 and other guests, thanks for the Review!


	4. Chapter 4

_So furious at his father for recalling him, he left the defense of the castle to Patrek along with 45 War Galleons to stand guard the attack from royal navy. Even Brynden thought this was a stupid move but Hoster remained stubborn so that he can profit more from the war. One thing Changed about Hoster was the drastic improvement had made Hoster a little ambitious. As such the wedding of Ned stark with Catelyn and Jon Arryn with Lysa took place urgently. William outright refused to marry anyone of his father's choosing and boldly told him that he will not marry who will be chosen by Hoster._

Place: Trident

Robert Baratheon was thinking about events that happened so far. Four major battles so far, the final which would decide the war is about to take place. Taking of Gulltown, battles at the Summerhall, Ashford and Bells. Thinking about the battle about Bells brought dark thoughts to the Baratheon Lord about Lord of Riverrun. Robert thought Hoster to be a cunt for marrying his daughters during the war in exchange for his army.

' _Hoster is a stupid Cunt unlike his son William'_ thought Robert; now William is a man that he could say he would trust to have his back just like his brother by choosing Ned. He arrived at Bells with black armor wielding a strange sword and helped him shatter the dragon spawn loyalist Jon Cunnington.

' _It's a pity that the Griffon shit lord managed to kill Jon Arryn's Cousin Denys Arryn and Jon the poor man he considered his father had also lost another nephew in the form of Elbert Arryn. And that given Hoster his excuse to marry his daughter that shrill Lysa to Jon. Suppose every house will have its share of black spot I suppose.'_ William protested of course but Hoster would have none of it. So William let his father deal with the negotiations and left the tent furiously after which the wedding took place.

What was odd about that battle was William personally led an army of 100 soldiers in the street taking down one enemy after the other without any loses. If what Robert heard about the information of the 100 were any true, they were trained personally by William and Blackfish. Each of them were equipped with excellent armor and weapons. William himself wielded a strange 28in curved blade which was capable of piercing the armor and he held no shield when he fought. Many a men fell to his blade. Maybe after this is over, he can ask William about his blacksmith so that he can have something made for his she-wolf once he rescue her after the war.

Cursing once more at the Targaryens' and swearing vengeance on Rhaegar once more, he saw William and others saddle their horses getting ready for the battle. Similarly everyone's got ready for the Battle of Trident. He also heard news that Quellon Greyjoy has finally sided with the Rebellion against the loyalist and heading towards Reach. He hoped that he won crush the Loyalists once and for all today.

The battle was one of the bloodiest that William fought so far. He and his 100 SHARKS whom he personally trained rode into the battle and slaughtered many a levies and knights alike. He fought with two kingsguard Ser Jonothor Darry and Ser Barristan Selmy. William Killed Jonothor in a single combat but nearly lost against Selmy many times during his one on one bout but eventually managed to badly wound Ser Barristan. When the battle was finally over with the death of Rhaegar, just like at the defiance of Duskendale, he was bathed in blood. Due to this and the effort of his personal troop Sharkmen, the soldiers started calling him the Redshark.

What was most amazing feat was only 18 members of the Shark were killed. 7 were heavily wounded but would recover. He personally stood against killing Ser Barristan Selmy and advised to heal him and take into Robert's service after capturing the Red keep. For that accord, William along with his remaining 75 remaining men along with more from support rode strong knowing that the Lannisters' are moving against the King's Landing.

But by the time they reached the King's Landing, Lannister army already in the middle of sacking. Immediately William put his army into taking control of the City so to ensure that no one would kill, rape and pillage the small folk. The Lannister army who never expected any attack on them was caught with their breeches down as the saying would go. In some cases, it was quite literally the truth. As such it took nearly an hour of fighting and a quick treat with Kevan Lannister to stop the pillaging.

By the time, William managed to get enough control over the city, Eddard Stark came over along with the army. Ned saw what was happening and used his army to help William's men bring peace around the city. Then he took few soldiers and William, praising him for trying to keep justice and honor even in the time of war. William simply nodded grim faced. Even though he arrived at the city, he was not able to completely stop the sacking, he simply stopped which was already in progress.

When William and Ned arrived in the throne room, they saw Jaime Lannister seated on the throne and Aerys's corpse was below the throne. When Eddard Stark called Jaime the Kingslayer, William used legilimency to search his mind for the reason. When he found it, he frowned and stopped Ned from further questioning.

He cast a very weak confundus on Jaime and asked him the reason for the murder. Jaime who was already in turmoil, informed them about the Wildfire plot by Aerys. He pitied the lad and informed him that even though he killed for the right reason, he should have simply knocked Aerys out of consciousness, faced the rebels to death. He should not have killed due to his oath as the Kingsguard and Knight. Jaime went wide eyed at that for a moment but managed to compose his feature.

William immediately ordered his men to find the pyromancers and get rid of both the Wildfire and also the pyromancers. When Sharks finished cleaning the city and killed the 3 pyromancers, Robert entered the throne room.

When Tywin presented the bodies the Elia and her children, both William and Ned went into rage against the brutal murder. When Ned completely opposed the murder, William just opposed against the brutality and demanded justice.

When Robert decided not to do anything about the murders calling them dragon spawn, both William and Ned exited the Red Keep in fury. But William promised vengeance for the brutality on Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch. When they came outside, William volunteered his help to Eddard in further efforts of the war namely, stopping the siege of Storm's End and rescuing of Lyanna Stark. In that regard, he also took 5 top veterans from his army for the ride along with Eddard and his Northern men.

After the negotiation of the surrender of the Tyrell army, they went towards Tower of Joy in Dorne.

The Lord Commander was guarding the entrance to the room which help both Lyanna and her child, Arthur came in hurriedly. On seeing that, Ser Gerold asked, "Any trouble Arthur? Any Baratheon, Stark or Lannister men?"

Arthur grimly shook his head and replied, "Worse! William and his top 5 Commanders of Sharkmen. He even brought along Eddard Stark and 6 of his Northmen." Even Gerold grew grim of this news as even they heard about the feats of William and his 5 Shark 'Captains' as he called them. They were very brutal in dealing with bandits and rapists. They never gave option of going to Wall for the guilty even if they surrendered. They were simply killed. When William was once asked about it, he simply said that the Wall does not need scum and that he will not trust the said scum with noble service such as the Wall. This was something the Kingsguard agreed and also respected William for it.

Furthermore news reached them about how he killed Ser Jonothor and severely wounded Barristan in single combat. A feat which is extremely difficult even for a renowned Swordsman like Ser Arthur Dayne. And he did it without the Valyrian weapon or any shields. Simply a Strange thin curved sword and a similar smaller one.

When the 3 Kingsguard reached the entrance to the tower, they came across the rescue party. On seeing them, William spoke, "So this is where the Rhaegar's Prince Guard is hiding. Pity, Your brothers and King Aerys could have used your help."

Ser Oswell snaked a reply, "If we were there, then you would not be standing here."

William coolly replied, "Then Why are aren't you there? Fuck Aerys, you could have saved the Princess and her children."

Before any of them could reply, Ned spoke, "I was certain you would be with the Queen Rhaella, Prince Viserys and Willam Darry" William snorted at this when Ser Oswell replied, "Ser Willam is good man but not of Kingsguard."

William snapped at this, "And neither are you if you are taking orders from the prince instead of the King."

The three Kingsguard knew this to be true as they put forth the order of prince before the King's. But they continued to resist. Ser Gerold Spoke, "If any of you are thinking of taking what is inside easily without any fight , then think again!"

William roared, "For fuck sake Ser Gerold, Ned's own sister is inside and if your action is any indication, then so is his nephew! Tell me Arthur, do you really think that the honorable fool Eddard Stark is capable of harming his own sister and nephew?"

Ned and his men jaw dropped when they heard the news of Lyanna birthing a child. Ned was in so much shock that he didn't register the small insult William threw at his honor. Arthur sighed and spoke to Ser Gerold, "He… He is right Lord Commander. I can personally vouch for Eddard Stark. Let him meet his sister but not the others." He saw William as daring him to challenge on this decision.

William simply raised his hand in surrender and said, "No Problem for me as long as Ned is allowed can see his sister. But we need to speak about the future of the Young child." Realizing that the Kingsguard decided to protest, he raised his single hand again to stop them and asked Ned to go inside the Tower. Once Ned went inside, William spoke, "Listen no one here are cruel enough kill a child contrary to what you may believe. In fact I would say, you are also partially to blame for the death of Elia and her Children. If you had been present in Red Keep, you would have at least escaped with them. But I am not here to put blame but to simply rescue my good brother's sister."

After sometime, Ned came with the baby and very grim face filled with tears. William understood what happened and shouted, "You fools did not bother with employing any midwife or any Maester for a young woman such as Lyanna? Argh… Lord Reed & Dustin, go help Ned deal with this, I will have a few words with this fuckers."

After a very long shouting match, ranting and very heated arguments between William, Ned and the Kingsguard, they came to an understanding.

William convinced Ned to introduce the newly named Jon Snow as the bastard of Brandon and Ashara Dayne. Ser Arthur Dayne was given leave to inform Ashara so as to fake her death and accompany Arthur secretly on a journey to Winterfell where they will help take care of Jon along with Eddard. While the remaining 2 Kingsguard would journey Essos and join the remaining royal family and help them. It was decided that as long as Robert was alive, Ned would never raise banners against him.

William made Ned realize that Robert would be a terrible King after learning the death of Lyanna and that he already changed from the long war that he considered and enjoyed the brutal murder of Elia and her Children a good thing. Ned took a long time to be convinced that his longtime friend and bonded brother to be anything but good natured young boy Eddard once knew. But William employed cold hard logic and facts and his charisma to change the minds of everyone because he did not want to shed any blood as he knew all of them to be good men. Thus at the end of 283 AC, William had successfully changed a great part of the Westeros history and become a great battle veteran at the young age of just 19. And that was just the beginning.

 **Author Note:** Ryon Reyne: Thanks for pointing out the mistake made in Ch 3 when instead of Rickard Stark I wrote Rickon in one place. I have corrected and re uploaded it. And for Vyman being the Maester, I just have to say that I just googled to know more about the Maester during the time of Catelyn's childhood but couldn't find none. So I just went with keeping Vyman as the same Maester. I hope you would forgive me ;) for a little fanfic Author prerogative. But I do like that you have given me a good information and hope that I can expect more such things IF I make such mistake in future.

I also thank all those who reviewed and fav'd. Thanks for the support! If there is anything that I need to improve on, please do let me know either through a review or a PM.


	5. Chapter 5

William knew that he need more influence in Westeros both among nobles and smallfolk so that he could gain some form unity when the Ice demons come or as the Starks would like to say "winter is coming" The minute William knew Jon was born, he knew that he was the chosen one to beat back White Walkers. He heard a lot of rumors surrounding Rhaegar's fixation with the prophecy of prince that was promised. But Rhaegar assumed wrong in thinking his son Aegon is the one. The fact is that Aegon will not remain a prince for long and he will ascend into a king given enough time as such there leaves only one possibility. Jon Targaryen or as he is known as Jon Snow is the chosen one.

After gathering and finalizing many details and plans for the future, William left the Tower of joy along with Ned towards King's landing. In Red Keep, William refused to speak to Robert or Jon Arryn and simply glanced over the proceedings of the rewards given for the participation in the rebellion for all. When William was suggested for the Master of Laws, he simply refused but suggested his Uncle Brynden for the post which was well received and finalized. Master of Whisper was still retained by Varys, and Ser Barristan was named Lord Commander of Kingsguard. When it came to naming the captain of the Golden cloak, William again put forth the suggestion of Martyn Cassel which surprised Ned. Eddard on seeing his signs from Williams face accepted on behalf of Martyn and informed them that he will send him after he reached Winterfell. Jon Arryn was named Hand of the King and only Master of Coin and Master of Ships were yet to be named.

It took a great effort in convincing Robert to leave Ser Arthur Dayne in the North but Eddard and William managed to do it. Since the remaining Kingsguard are reported dead by both Ned and William, both the King and Hand simply accepted it as such. Robert informed them that He have send a word to Stannis to hunt down the remaining Targaryens on Dragonstone. Both Ned and William and Ned gritted their teeth and accepted it. As soon as everything was finalized temporarily in Red keep, Eddard left for Winterfell immediately not wanting to be in Viper's pit immediately.

But William shook head about thoughts of past and future and as one of his master from the previous life said, "The past is behind, learn from it; the future is ahead, prepare for it; the present is here, live it" Golden words to be followed by everyone. He was currently waiting for one of the important players in the game played by the major Lords of the South. The only game that is to be played – The Game of Thrones. He was the Master of Whispers.

The when William was about to leave the red keep, he was hit in the arms by a stone and saw a small girl standing on a small alley way who asked him to follow her in signs. William asked his Shark captains to wait in the nearest inn and followed the young child. Now William knew that the little 'bird' is taking him through the secret passageways of the Red Keep. He finally came to small cavern underneath the red keep where the man known as 'Spider' Varys was waiting for him.

On seeing him, Varys simply smiled and spoke, "Welcome my Lord. My little birds sing interesting songs! Oh what songs they are! Mayhap with nobles like you, Robert reign may be more interesting."

William simply nodded and said, "Maybe but both you and me know that Robert has changed drastically during the War. I will be blunt and if what he is currently doing is any indication, he will drink and whore the seven kingdoms to the ground! It will be up to people like us to make up for it. And for that I need an audience with the Martells."

Varys stared intently at the young Riverrun heir and said, "That can be easily done and may I ask a question?"

"You already did but you may do so again", replied William with a smirk.

Varys chuckled, "Quite so. I want to know why? Why did you send the 2 ships that you 'acquired' from the pirates to intercept Stannis in hunting the remaining royal family?"

William replied, "The reason I rose in rebellion is because of Aerys and not because of Rhaegar. I am not sure you knew this or not but I kept track on Rhaegar's activities for a long time now. I am certain that Lyanna went willingly with him as I know he was infatuated with the prophecy and song of Ice and fire. As you well know, Rhaegar can be very charming and very persuasive when wants to be."

Varys nodded confirming everything that he heard, knew and guessed. William continued, "What I do not understand is that both Rhaegar and Lyanna knew the potential disaster if they run away without informing the Starks and I am not idiot enough to believe that they run away without any precaution but I suspect there was a foul play involved which brought about the rebellion. The love birds must have sent some form of communication which was either destroyed, killed or simply vanished. I only have guesses and supposition. But sadly apart from you, on one will believe me as I have no proof."

Varys face had anger and said, "That about sums my thought. So now what?"

William replied, "We do what we can. There is no way to ascertain any truth since Brandon died along with the information on who told him about Lyanna's supposed abduction. So now we move forward. For that effect, I need a favor from you which will greatly help the realm in future." Varys raised his eyebrows and asked him to continue.

To that effect William told his plan and finalized the major details on what to be expected to happen in Westeros and how to handle the Targaryens if they arrive safely in Essos. After both the men were satisfied, the simply left the underground.

At the near end of the 284 AC, the 20 year old Tully was appointed as the new member of the Commander of the Royal Army which is to be formed from people of all corners of the seven kingdoms and to be stationed in Duskendale with Dunfort as its headquarters. This is was mainly due to the influence of William's popularity among the small folk and Varys influence over the course of the year on the King and the Hand. Not finding any fault in appointing his good brother, Jon also agreed to the proposal. At this time, he was also able to get one of his Shark captain namely Marq Piper as the captain of the Golden Cloaks along with Martyn Cassel. He even gave 50 of his Sharkmen as gift for Robert on his Wedding so that they can train and replenish the Gold Cloaks that were lost during the sacking.

It was during this time that William received an invitation to Dorne from Doran Martell. As such he immediately gave the management of his castle to his trusted friend Patrek Mallister who accepted the position of Castellan until such time when he was needed as the Head of the House Mallister. Even his father Lord Jason approved of this and asked his son to make him proud.

Once he arrived at the Sunspear, he was welcomed personally the red viper Oberyn Martell himself amicably. William was not sure how to take of it and he did not want to use legilimency as Oberyn is said to have travelled far and wide across Essos and he did not want to push his luck. So he politely accepted his greeting and accompanied into the tour of Sunspear. And before long, he was welcomed by Doran in the water gardens who was taking his time away from Sunspear to cool his head after the wedding of Robert and Cersei.

Doran impassively spoke, "Welcome Lord Commander of the royal army to Dorne." William could see that Oberyn smirked at this greeting.

William genially replied, "It's good to be here my Prince. But before we proceed any further may I inspect your Gout? I have studied the disease in some details and I believe that I may have a temporary solution for you. May I inspect it?"

Doran simply raised his eyebrows and said, "Great many healers and Maesters have tried and failed and yet you say you have a solution?"

Now William smirked, "True many Maesters would have tried but none of them are me are they? The small folk of the North do not call me William the Wise for nothing you know! And I am not stupid enough to try anything on you or the Martells on their own place much less with red viper nearby to watch"

Doran nodded appreciatively and asked to inspect it. William impacted the gout and performed a diagnostic spell on the leg and after a second, he got all the needed details on the gout's stage. Doran felt a tingle spread on his leg but simply did not convey anything.

And after a minute, William asked a parchment, Quill and started writing something that neither Doran nor Oberyn could find about what. Then after 15 more minutes, William straightened and gave the parchment to Doran and spoke to the brothers, "Gouts are normally formed due to two factors. One is simply because it is carried in your blood from one of your ancestor and the other is because of the elevated levels of a certain alchemical property in human blood. Based on your severity, I have compiled 2 herbal potions; 1 is to simply reduce the swelling and pain and the other is to reduce the said alchemical substance in your blood. You have to take 1st potion every week and the 2nd once a month. Also I have included the major food items which you need to avoid in order to reduce the elevation of the alchemical substance in your blood."

After Doran accepted it, he gave it to Oberyn so that he could consult their Maester on the potion but Doran felt a little hope of walking in future.

And after 10 more minutes of silence, Oberyn spoke, "We heard that you swore vengeance on the Mountain and the pig Lorch."

William said without any emotion, "You heard right. What happened to the princess and her kids are not something I would wish even upon my enemies. The memory of seeing their bodies still makes my blood boil but I could do nothing. As you right called me Commander of the Royal army, I can now travel all over seven kingdoms; who knows maybe Lorch can be found mysteriously disappear from his keep. And if you can ally with me, you may even find him shipped towards Dorne."

Oberyn's hand immediately pressed on the shoulder of Doran which did not went unnoticed by William. Doran nodded and replied, "And the mountain?"

William said, "Sadly, Mountain cannot be taken easily and the only thing that can be done about him is killing him if he participated in any melee during tourneys or any trial by combat. But I know that both Tywin and Mountain will definitely slip up and make some mistake. We just have to wait patiently. Something which you are known for" and gave a smirk at Oberyn who returned it.

Doran was silent for a minute and then spoke, "If you need me to ally with you, I need something more than simple trade to tie ourselves."

William immediately frowned upon hearing it but could not fault him for thinking a way tie him to Martells. Because only his daughter Arianne* can secure his loyalty to a certain degree with the Martells. William finally nodded and spoke, "Very well but I need to speak my mind regarding this marriage and a few more things about me that you must know if this is proceed forward. As such I will also require your daughter to be here when I explain a few things. And after that I will speak privately with her but you have my promise on my honor and everything that I am that I will only speak about a few things that she must know about my person. Only after that I will consent to the marriage."

Doran sighed which he seems to do a lot these days and asked for Oberyn to bring his daughter to which Oberyn simply snorted and replied, "We don't need to bother going for her as she is listening to our conversation from the start. My dear Arianne, stop hiding and come in would you?"

Arianne when she came out had blush on her face on being caught and also irritation for her uncle on tattle telling on her. William for his part simply looked amused as he knew that a girl was listening but did not think it was Doran's daughter.

Doran did not bother chastising his daughter but rather asked William to get on with his explanation. William once again making sure that no one else was spying on them and stealthily cast a muffliato. The he spoke, "The things that I am going to tell will not leave this room; because for 1 they will not believe even of you tell them and two, I will kill you all myself if it gets out."

William raised his hand to stop Oberyn's rant and continued, "I am not even sure if you would believe this but I can prove it nonetheless. These secret have been with me for a long time and you three are the first that I am sharing with; this not out of my respect for you but out of necessity and I would very much like it if you would allow me to completely finish.

My rise of fame as many would call it is not possible for any normal people. I do not the follow the Seven contrary to many but the Old gods. The stranger is one of the old gods who splintered himself from them due to a huge fight between but now regrets helping the Andals in establishing the Seven. To put it simply, I have been gifted by the Old Gods right from the birth with knowledge of many things that can destroy this world but also can help it.

My service for this gift is very complex and nearly impossible. I am gifted by the Old Gods so that I can help the humanity and the living to fight against long night that is fated to come in two decades more or less. You may scoff at me or not believe me but what I am telling is the truth. I can tell you that from the moment I was born that I was completely aware of my existence. Furthermore they gifted me with magic never seen before even by the first men and Children so that I can stave off the Long night.

The starks got one thing right when they say winter is coming; some and even the Starks would say that it is a heeding about dark times may come at any time but I know for a fact that it is a premonition and also a warning about the Long night. That is one of the major reason that I sent half the males that I recruited when I was 15 to the Wall so that the Watch can at least have enough and make it popular once more. Aegon I did the watch a disservice when he simply scoffed at their recruiting and instead sent the criminals of the Red keep.

Not only that I am also trying to build a bridge between the seven kingdoms or at least with the small folk so that when the time is right they can help with war against Wights and the White Walkers."

They then have a deadly silence in the room and William showcased them his magical abilities. The first of which he levitated Arianne, Doran and Oberyn. He then proceeding to show them about small conjuration of water and fire. He also showed his impressive strength and strong healing factor. He also informed Doran that he could create oasis for him in the Dorne. He also explained in detail about the difference about his magic and the shadow magic of Asshai and red priest which are nothing more that dark blood magic and necromantic rituals.

Finally after everything was said and done Doran replied, "I am more than convinced that you are saying that truth but when the time comes, you must have a proof that White walkers and Wights have arrived. As you said before, no one in their right mind would simply believe on our words alone."

William simply smiled and told Doran, "I know prince Doran; but even to gather the proof we have to wait another decade and a half at the least. The white Walkers have only started to stir; they have yet to truly make any move. For now all we can do is to wait it out until the right time.

Now May I speak with the princess personally?"

Both Oberyn and Doran gave the permission and they simply moved out. Once they were out, William continued, "Princess Arianne, there are a few things that you should probably know about me before you agree to marry me." Arianne raised her eyebrow which reminded remarkable of her father.

"I know that Dorne is more open towards the relationship between a man and his wife and I personally have nothing against it. But I have certain beliefs and ideals about the marriage between a man and a woman. Call me an old type but I prefer if my Wife to love only me and me alone. And I in turn only love only her. I vowed that I would never stray from marriage when I was little to my Uncle when he was teaching me about alliance and marriages. Maybe he thought I was simply a boy who was eager to please his uncle by making such a vow but I know what I was getting at when I made the vow.

I have never once strayed until now and I would expect the same from my bride to be as I consider the maiden from the woman to be the greatest gift that she can gift a man. I do not expect my wife to be a simple wallflower or a submissive woman like all other southern ladies. My wife should not be afraid to speak her mind and should help in all my endeavors an equal partner and not just a simpering woman who would just bore me heir. In short that in my absence, she should be powerful to rule effectively and truly be my other half.

If you do not feel that I am not a suitable man for you, let me know now."

Arianne could not believe herself. William was everything she wanted for a husband and more but too bad he feel strongly about open relationships. 'Maybe that won't be too bad I think.' Thought Arianne. William was a very handsome man and is considered the top eligible man to get married to apart from the Usurper King. Even before the rebellion, he was considered to be second only to Rhaegar. He got his facial structure and wavy hair from his mother and inherited the brown hair with flaming red tips and baby blue eyes which is a mix of both his parents. He had a very short cut hair on both the side but had a Quiff in the middle. If she guessed right, then he must have aesthetic body which was completely powerful hidden by athletic outside appearance. William is also very tall at 6.6 ft. which was normally taller than the average men of Westeros. It was a good thing that she did not went through with her plan to lose her maidenhood. The only downside was that she would never be able to rule Dorne. But the positive outweigh the negative.

With that in mind Arianne had only one thing to do, she leapt towards William and caught him full on lips. William was so shocked by this that he did not fully comprehend what was happening until there was a cough heard behind them to see a smirking Oberyn. William barely registered Oberyn and continued to stare at Arianne much to the amusement of Oberyn and embarrassment of the Dorne woman.

Oberyn chuckled and simply said, "Do you really have to do that? Judging from his looks, it is his first one too it seems!"

Arianne simply shrugged and said, "What can I say? When I like something, I will have it at any cost!"

Then next few days were spent going over their plan and trade agreements and various other things that needed to tie both William and Dorne with one another. But by the end of the week during his stay in Dorne, events occurred that formed a complete rift between Hoster and William.

 **Author Note:** * - In my story Arianne is currently 16 years of age. Doran was born on 247 or 248 AC so I cannot believe he would simply wait until he was 28 to have a heir in the setting of a world such as Westeros where heirs are required to be married as soon as they can so that they can continue their line. Anyway that is just my opinion and I am going to stick with it. Or you can simply think that the birth of William has made an impact on Westeros. I hope none of you expected this pairing and are surprised!

Next thing I forgot to mention in last chapter is this. The Sword used by William is none other than a Katana and Wakizashi which are crafted magically along with his armor which was made from Titanium that he manage to extract during his mining expedition in North. For reference google jousting armor of Dr. Tobias Capwell for Armor. Well for Katana, just imagine one with white hilt or handle and white blade with runes covering the blade. But William made sure that the runes will simply look like a drawing for any outsiders. The armor is also engraved with runes on the inside and covered with leather so that no one can suspect it.

As always I thank everyone for the continued support! Love you all!


	6. Chapter 6

_Oberyn chuckled and simply said, "Do you really have to do that? Judging from his looks, it is his first one too it seems!" Arianne simply shrugged and said, "What can I say? When I like something, I will have it at any cost!" Then next few days were spent going over their plan and trade agreements and various other things that needed to tie both William and Dorne with one another. But by the end of the week during his stay in Dorne, events occurred that formed a complete rift between Hoster and William._

Eddard was quietly enjoying his time sharpening his family sword Ice in front of the weirwood tree in Godswood. Ice is a Valyrian steel and never needs sharpening but he found some sense of balance and inner peace. It also gave him time to go over things that happened in the past. It was a good thing that William managed to convince him to introduce Jon as Brandon's natural son because his Lady wife, though showed more kindness to him, was a little distant as well. That was not bad per see but it was more than enough as Jon got a mother in Ashara.

Initially Catelyn was reluctant to accept Ashara into the family because of her past connections with Ned but warmed up with her as the time went. And Arthur was ever the Kingsguard and Ned was still not certain how to go about with him as there was always an awkwardness between them. But he cannot certainly deny that he was a great boon in helping his master of arms Rodrik Cassel train men at arms for the castle guard. If there is one thing he learned from William when they were travelled to rescue Lyanna was that no matter the circumstances, a castle need more guards who can also be used to patrol the surrounding lands for the bandits and other criminals.

In fact this move not only gave job to more men but also increase the reputation of House Stark among the small folk. He could never thank William enough for bringing more wealth and prosperity to north and more importantly a great food resource and a technique by which they can properly store for winter. This ensured that the people of north not only survived but can come out of winter unscathed due to depleted food supply. This made various Lords of north and also the smallfolk happy and satisfied.

It was nearly a year since Robert's wedding and 3 months since William departed for Dorne. Thinking about William made him think about the South which bought a slight smirk on his face which you don't see on Eddard ever. That was because he of all the weirwood trees suddenly growing all over the south and even in some parts of the North though that was mainly in and around White Harbor. The thing that was most odd and quite literally weird is that the people of faith were unable to destroy the trees and whoever tried to do so found their hands burned severely.

The other major point in this issue was that the farming areas near the said trees were beginning to prosper all of a sudden & those who prayed near the old stopped getting any minor ailments that normally plagued the smallfolk. This made the small folk to jump to the Old Gods. And when he was in Vale with Jon Arryn, he heard smallfolk talk about how many septs and septans were asking money to absolve them of their sins. Quite pathetic and downright disgusting if you ask any proper north people. On the contrary, the old gods never need anything monetary except your prayers in front of the weirwood tree.

The Great Septon tried to cause a major turmoil and demanded the King and the Hand to wage war against the North and the pagan gods. The problem was that the stupid Septon went straight to Robert and Jon while they were having a court and was ranting about pagans and claiming the North people as barbaric and savages. And before Jon could stop him, Robert punched the Septon in the face knocking his teeth and broke his nose. Anyone with an ounce of brain would not insult people of North in front of Robert.

That was nothing compared what that bastard Tywin did. He had the head of Septon removed and had it mounted on a pike in front of his castle and announced to everyone across westerlands that they are free to follow whatever god they choose as long as long they obeyed him and followed the laws of men. Ruthless that action maybe, everyone knew that the faith militant can be very dangerous to the Lords and the king. It was said that Tywin always had one eye on faith and Great Septon while he was the hand of the King.

The problem for the faith of seven was that the smallfolk started to jump into the arms of the Old gods in droves. Jon also gave the ultimatum to Septons of the faith that he would put anyone to the sword who tried to cause unrest among the seven kingdoms. He also informed them many still followed the seven including himself and warned them that religious freedom was the prerogative of every free man and that no one should be forced to convert to worship other Gods when they clearly do not want to do it.

There was some unrest reported here and there but once they were put to the Sword, everything came back to normal. For once everything was going well for the people of North including the watch. It was during this time of reminiscing that he saw Maester Luwin walking hurriedly towards him with a worried look on his face. He then asked Ned to see to his Lady because a raven arrived from Duskendale bringing a sad news nothing grave but sad news indeed.

He went inside Winterfell and tasked with maester to return Ice to its place and went to the Lords room where his wife was waiting for him. She was very sad with Robb their son on one hand and a letter on the other. Ned calmly went to hug his wife and took time to peruse the letter. A sad news indeed. It seems that William arrived back with a lady wife who is none other than the princess of Dorne herself. Normally this would not be a big issue but William married Arianne Martell without his father's approval and even converted to the Old Gods. This led to a lot of fighting and shouting between the father and son which resulted in Hoster proclaiming that William is no son of him and banished him.

William took in stride and went directly to King's Landing and requested both Robert and Jon for the forming his own house, House Redshark; which Robert agreed immediately. It was said that William apparently took Arianne along with his horse and spirited away as in some songs the maids used to dream. Maester Vyman sent a raven towards Will's castellan in Duskendale about the whole incident and requested to inform back about William's reactive action for the incident. In fact, Patrek Mallister indicated that by the time Will received the audience with the King, he already chose a coat of arms and Words.

His sigil was Brown banner with red outline with a red shark jumping out of blue water in a splash. His House words were aptly named Fortune Favors the Bold. A saying that he often heard William say but also cautioned the only misery will follow a reckless idiot. Apparently this was something that Robert took to heart during the battle of trident.

Apparently Edmure Tully also fought with his father regarding the stupid decision of Hoster and he sent raven to Duskendale that no matter what William will always be his brother and that only William will be the next Lord paramount of Trident. This situation was a real mess. Catelyn told Eddard a lot about herself and her family after the war. About how both Lysa and Edmure worshipped William and they would often be found shadowing William whenever he was at Riverrun. She also told him that he only worshipped Stranger and that she was not surprised Will converted to Old Gods. Catelyn informed him that their Lord father was wrong to banish a powerful heir who has the loyalty of the all the River lords even more so than his father. But that did not mean his lady wife did not have any choice words for her twin. Ned went about consoling his wife and requested Maester Luwin to invite William to Winterfell along with his Lady Wife.

Jon Arryn was a tired man these days as one issue comes after the other and establishing peace in the seven kingdoms is very much difficult with Robert literally burdened Jon with the ruling. First the wedding of the King, then the pacification of the faith and now the fallout of the Riverrun Lord and his heir. He received a raven from Hoster to that effect informing him about the banishing of his heir William and Appointment of Edmure Tully as the heir of Riverrun. Then after a week, William arrived and requested them of his decision to form a separate house. Now Jon knew that if William wanted, he could unseat his father quite easily with the help of other River Lords but instead acquiesced his father's wishes and petitioned to form his own house for which he already had coat of arms ready and Words.

Three crisis in one year is too much for any man or woman; the royal wedding, faith crisis and now this. They were already in discussion of forming military barracks for Royal army across Westeros starting with Riverlands and maybe more based on its effectiveness. Now William, Well Prince Consort William thought it was prudent to make a decision so that he can start establishing said barracks. William chose three strategical points to that regard; Seagard, Pink maiden, and Harrenhall. Jon personally thought they were best choices as these places will help keep an eye in Tywin and the Freys even if they do not have more barracks across Westeros.

Robert was quite having the time of his life as a King except for one little fact; his nag of a wife Cercei. It's not even a year after the marriage and he can't even stand the bloody woman. ' _If only I had Lyanna; that fucking dragon spawn',_ thought Robert as he held a wine cup before sighing and drinking the Wine. There was not a day past when his bitch wife did not complain about everything and nothing. Even now the castle guards are replaced with Lannister men with a few Baratheon men. He would have more than satisfied with William's Sharkmen. But that was not to be. At least, he told Cercei to go fuck herself when she suggested to have the Captain of the Gold Cloaks replaced. The Piper Knight does damn good job in keeping the King's peace in King's Landing. William and Brynden did a good job in training that man.

Jon had just informed him above giving the lands in Trident a trial run for the royal army. Now William was one of very few men that he can respect in the entire seven kingdoms. A ferocious and cunning warrior, a master strategist and above all a wise and intelligent man far above his age.

In fact, if not for his many stratagems at Trident, the rebels would have suffered many losses; he even helped bring back Lyanna's body and brought the Northmen that travelled with Ned unharmed. Ned did not tell who slew Hightower and Whent but just that they are no more. Now Robert was not stupid but he knew that William and his Sharkmen had a hand and seeing that William already killed one Kingsguard and defeated another, if any details about another two kingsguard' s death one of which is distant family came into light, that will make William infamous like that smirking cunt Kingslayer. So Robert did not bother asking more details and just satisfied with their deaths.

He knew that he slighted both William and Ned that day after the sacking and thinking about it now made him feel ashamed of himself. No matter the reasons, they could have made their deaths less painful by employing some poison or something like Ned told him. But he was not in his right mind at that time and simply let his hatred of the fucking rapist Rhaegar consume him. William was always right; he told him before trident not to let hatred consume him but he has nothing but hatred of the dragon spawn left in him. He just simply want to drink and whore his way into early grave so that he can see his she wolf again.

Thinking about William made Robert remember about his cunt of a father Hoster Tully. He really did not like that man when he negotiated his help of the army for his daughter's marriage. He could understand having Cat marry Ned but the bastard extorted his father figure Jon for his hand marriage for his younger daughter Lysa the shrill fuck face. William protested against marrying Lysa to Jon which his Hand agreed with but no one could persuade Hoster otherwise.

Now that idiotic cunt have again blundered when he banished William from Riverrun. In fact, marrying Arianne Martell was a cunning strategic move by William for his reign as it brought Dorne under the fold. He had half a mind to call banners against Tully but strangely William accepted this and now looking back on it, it was a cold slap to that old bastards face when his friend formed a new house. That brought laughter to Robert Face.

Prince consort William could say he is on very good start on preparing the realm for the threat from beyond the wall. The first thing he did after arriving on Duskendale was send ravens to across Westeros about the founding of Redshark. The second thing he did was forge a pair of Circlet from silver. They are very simple but elegant looking. William's own was two silver bands entwined with a head of shark on both end on the front but without touching each other. Arianne's was quite different in that regard he had added a sun encircled by sharks.

He did not wanted to form a new house at all but his father left him no choice. Now he have to adjust the plans a little because of this inconvenience. He also met with several of his loyal men who worked as a small council to that of a king.

Patrek Mallister – Castellan of Duskendale; childhood friend of William and was nurtured to be a good warrior and also intelligent.

Garrick Wayn of House Wayn is currently a Steward who is being trained by both Patrek and William to be the next Castellan once Patrek leaves for Seaguard.

Ser Marq Piper – captain of the Golden cloaks (Both Brynden Tully who is Master of Laws and Marq are responsible for training of new troop of Golden cloaks along with the veteran Sharkmen); Trained by William and was knighted during rebellion.

Brandon Blackwood – 1st brother of Lord Tytos Blackwood and trained by Brynden Tully to be Master of arms for Duskendale. A Capable Swordsman fought in rebellion with William.

Hendry Bracken – Nephew of Lord Jonos Bracken serves as a Current commander of Sharkmen.

Theodore Deddings – Second son of House Deddings; trusted advisor financial manager for William managing all his business financial undertakings

Jonathan Grell – Grew up with William, excellent archer and Sharkmen Captain; now handles the spy network formed by William.

Nyessario & Maeryllo Stassel - two of three naval captains fiercely loyal to William; hails from Pentos

Vargan Vollelar – Hails from Braavos and the third naval captain; Like the Stassel Twins completely loyal to William

These 10 men for the inner circle members of William who help manage and establish William's influence, power and economy spread over the seven kingdoms. Further plans and tasks were given to all 10 men so that they can start working on them.

William was eagerly waiting for the start of the New Year. He never told Martells or even his Wife about a secret that he kept for a long time. The reason behind his inability to use transfiguration, other powerful curses, hexes and transportation magic like apparition and port keying. It happened during his early childhood days when he put Maester Vyman under imperious. After the ritual to enhance him, he slept for a long time; during this time he was again visited by the Old Gods and was punished by them for taking away free will completely. They put a block on his power until he turned 21 and informed him that influencing the decision with confundus is allowed but outright taking free will away was not to be tolerated. In fact, he had prayed to the Old gods to allow him use at least compulsion charms after the war so as to save some good men and the welfare of smallfolk that can help defend the realm for which he was granted his request albeit reluctantly.

William was now sitting with Arianne in their bed chambers. He cast a muffliato quickly.

He saw Arianne with a small smile and said, "I know you have been wanting to ask some questions for some time. You can go ahead and ask them, I will not take any offense?"

Arianne asked, "There are a few that plagued my mind, yes; my first question is that why did you not just simply assassinate Aerys and had Rhaegar be a King?"

"Assassination of Aerys crossed my mind a lot and you are also right that Rhaegar would have made a better king. But the fact is simple enough that the level of complexity and power of magic involved in such a task was beyond my ability; it still is at least until my names day coming in a couple of moon's turn."

When Arianne raised her eyebrow, William simply laughed and explained about the details about his punishment.

Arianne replied, "Alright I can understand that but why side against Rhaegar; you said that Rhaegar and Lyanna did not abduct her. Also the fact that you knew about the possibility of Robert becoming a terrible King."

William smiled ruefully and said, "Would you believe that until a moon's turn following the death of Lord Rickard and Brandon, I was ready to side with Rhaegar?"

Arianne's eyes grew wide at this admission and narrowed her eyes, "Explain?" came the command.

William simply nodded and explained, "Put yourself in Lyanna's shoes; you eloped with Rhaegar and the King executed your father and brother. Considering the fierce loyalty of North, Honor of Arryn and insult suffered by Robert by said prince, there was only one option: war. Anyone who is a not a fool can predict this outcome. And Lyanna was not a fool. So no tell me this: Will you still stay with the prince or try to reach out to your remaining brothers so that they will know the details behind your missing act?"

Arianne was about to answer but William stopped her and continued, "The thing about Rhaegar was that he was so obsessed with the prince that was promised that he also suffered a good amount of Targaryen madness. He was so focused on the problem of the future White walker problem that he forgot about the present. As far as I predict, he kept Lyanna prisoner and even went further to rape her after giving her milk of poppy. The reason why I came to this conclusion is that Lyanna died of birthing fever giving birth prematurely at just 8 moons."

Arianne's eyes literally popped out and quickly came to realize the situation and simply asked in a dazed voice, "Do my father and Uncle know about this?"

"They do. That is the reason why I sided against Rhaegar; anyone who takes a women against her will should not live. I had tried to have Elia and her children smuggled out of Red Keep but the men I employed were killed", confessed William.

He further continued, "See I can use confundus and Compulsion to make Robert a better king and thought about it too but the fact is that I have to be with Robert all the time and replace the magic continuously. The reason behind this is a simple. In order for compulsion to work, even in the back of the victim's mind, there should be a small amount of possibility to take that step. In Robert's case, after the death of Lyanna, he did not want rule at all. For my magic to work, even if it is small, Robert have to want to rule. He only want to drink and whore himself to early death. He may be strong warrior but too much of a coward to take his own life. So he takes the next best route for death: wine, women and war"

Arianne finally understood the complexity involved with the magic and also in the game of thrones. After sitting in silence for a long time, Arianne finally spoke, "So what is your plan now?"

So William explained about bringing the Lords of Crown Lands under his control. "After the War, the various Lords who were loyal to the Targaryens are now planning to ruin the Baratheon King economically by slowly increasing the price of goods traded by them to Red Keep. I have talked with few of them. While they respect me, they were not happy with me for near destruction of the Targaryen line. But after I explained and proved my part in helping the remaining Targaryens survival, they accepted not to go with their plan. I further explained them that they will not be able to cripple Robert financially as the Lannister gold will save him. Furthermore in the long run, the Hand would have to borrow from Iron Bank if they take the route that they are planning and thus even if the Baratheon rule collapses from their plot, only the Iron throne will be in unrecoverable debt and not the Baratheon. I have to tell you Arianne, many fools who consider themselves Lords in the realm do not even consider planning long term. They only want simple, short term solutions. They don't bother with the results that will affect their children and their house as a whole in future. Such a simple minded fools.

I have to meet few more Crown landers and discuss more politics and also have to fool into making sure that they take right decisions for the future of both the realm and also our family." Arianne was smiling proudly at her husband's explanation. Then William also explained further about his plans for the future with his wife and asked for her input in his plans.

 **Author Note:** I have made some corrections in the earlier chapters. This was due to some review that mentioned that made quite a few spelling mistakes and such. So I corrected them. Please know that English is not my mother Tongue, So I hope you people can forgive me if mistakes are there I use Word to first write the story and check for all spelling mistakes. Only after that I post a chapter and yet I do make some grammatical errors which I am hoping to reduce. Second I would like if you are going to leave reviews, don't try to abuse. I would like positive criticism not abuse. If you don't like what I write, then don't read! If you want to still read, then don't take it out on me! In fact I would consider it a great victory for me if you do so as I can keep you engaged even after all the mistakes.. Not bad for an amateur! Well There you go! I have corrected all mistakes as far as I could find and reposted them..

 **As always.. thanks for the Support! FAVS: 109 and FOL: 128.. In just 5 days! You people made my day.. Once again thanks for all the love and support! I will try to make it worthwhile!**

 **Peace out!**


	7. IMP UPDATE

Fortune favors the bold

Hello Everyone! Hope you are all doing fine.

It has been a very time and I have legitimate reasons for that.

I got married and moved to a new place and everything. Life just got hectic for the last few months.

I am really sorry for not updating the details of my absence but not for getting married!

Now that I had a break and when I looked into my work in the story, there were several things that were not really well thought out. So I am rewriting it under the same name. I have nearly completed 5 chapters and already up to 30k words. So you should understand that I have expanded on the details that were mentioned in the story by a long shot. Still, I plan on correcting many things so that I can provide you more enjoyment when reading the story.

I once thank you for the love and continued support that you have showed me.

I will upload the new story with 5 chapters once I have it finished. It will be in the next couple of days or by the end of the week.

Love and Regards,

FA.


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